Why Is Africa Splitting Into Two Continents?

Africa is undergoing a geological transformation, and the tectonic forces are slowly dismantling the mainland. This process is driven by movement along the East African Rift System, dividing Africa into two parts: Nubia and Somalia plate. According to the researchers, Africa could eventually break into two separate lands as millions of years of new oceans form new oceans. This ongoing tectonic activity reflects the ancient changes of the Earth and continues to reshape the African landscape in the distant future.

Source: Thetravel

As two major parts of the African continent continue to spread out, new bodies of water may emerge, which may provide landlocked countries and Zambian coastline in the future.

The East African Rift Valley appeared in 35-mile-long cracks in the Ethiopian desert in 2005, the first sign of the process. Earthquake data is published in Geophysical Research Letter It is shown that the formation of rift valleys is driven by similar tectonic activities similar to those in the marine rift valley areas. This crack marks the boundary of three tectonic plates – the borders of Africa Nubia, Africa Somalia and Arab plates, which have been slowly evacuating from each other.

“This is the only place on Earth where you can observe how continental rifts evolve into ocean rifts,” noted Christopher Moore, a doctoral student at the University of Leeds. Similar tectonic movements have also led to the creation of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. These constitute East Africa separates East Africa from West Asia.

Why is Africa divided into two continents?

The process of Africa splitting into two continents is due to a geological phenomenon called continental cracks. This process takes place in the East African Rift System (EARS), a tectonic plate boundary where the African plate is dismantled. The East African Rift Valley is causing the mainland to split, with the disassembly of tectonic plates such as Nabia and Somalis. Over 50 to 1 million years, this will create a new ocean, reshape East Africa’s geographical and trade routes and present opportunities and challenges

Here is a brief explanation:

aspect	detail
Phenomenon	Tectonic rift along East Africa Rift
The main structural boards involved	See more : Optical Illusion: Look at the Image and Find The Hidden Dog In This Mountain? Nubia African Plate, Somalia African Plate, Arab Plate
time frame	The formation of a new ocean for 500 million years
Affected countries	Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia
Chance	New coastline, trade route, economic development
challenge	Community displacement, environmental changes, increased seismic activity

Source: Thetravel

The impact of the Rift

1. Geographical Change: New lands such as Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania will eventually separate from the African continent. A new ocean will take shape, that is, it will appear in the newly created space. It will remake border countries like Uganda and Zambia to get the coastline.
2. Economic and trade impact: Landlocked countries gain access to coastal access can promote international trade. New transportation routes will transform global commerce. Coastal cities will need to adapt to rising sea levels and infrastructure changes.
3. Environmental and ecological impacts: Creating new marine ecosystems that affect biodiversity. The potential of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes due to tectonic transfer. It may change the source of freshwater, which can affect agriculture and human settlements.
4. Human and political impact: immigration due to land instability and coastal changes. Earth politics changes as states possess or lose strategic coastal areas. Governments must prepare for disaster management and infrastructure development.

Pangea: The role of ancient supercontinents and tectonic plates

Pangea: Ancient Supercontinent

Before the plate tectonics arrived, different collisions occurred and the pangea existed in supercontinents. Let’s learn more about Pangea, its formation and geography, and its structure and its relevance to disrupting Pangea.

See more : Optical Illusion Challenge: Find the Number 832 among 831 within 8 seconds

Source: Britannica

About Pangea:

Pangea is a vast supercontinent of the earth’s distant past, including almost all the land on the earth. It is surrounded by the huge ocean of Panthalassa. By the early Permian era about 299 to 273 million years ago, the founding of Pangea was fully established and did not begin to collapse around the early Jurassic period. This breakup ultimately led to the formation of today’s continents and oceans. German meteorologist Alfred Wegeneer proposed Pangea’s idea in 1912, as part of his theory of continental drift. The name pangea originated in Greek pangeameaning “the whole earth”.

The formation of pangea:

During the Devonian period (419.2 to 358.9 million years ago), the process of assembling the land of Pangea was being carried out when Laurentia (stable interior of North America) and Baltica (stable interior of Eastern Europe) collided with smaller microgrowths to form Eumamerica. in progress. By the beginning of the Permian period (2989 to 25.2 million years ago), Gondwana’s northern coastline (the predecessor of modern continents such as South America, Africa, India) was with the southern regions of Europe and the United States. When Angaran Craton of Siberia merged with the road during the early Permian period, the assembly of Pangea was completed.

Geography of Pangea:

Pangea has a C-shaped shape that stretches between the polar regions of the earth. Its eastern edge contains the Tethys Sea, an important marine feature that evolved into the Neo-Tethys ocean after the West Murion lands separated from Gondwana. In the east, the smaller land Catholicism extends to the eastern oceans of today’s northern and southern China. The surrounding ocean contains various miniature endometriums, volcanic arcs and marine plateaus, all of which later joined the edge of Pangea.

Pangea’s breakup:

Pangea began to decompose about 200 million years ago and now understands this process through plate tectonics. The concept of plate tectonics, rather than Wegner’s original continental drift theory, explains that the earth’s lithosphere consists of large, rigid plates that are caused by forces from ocean ridges and subduction zones. As these plates separate, pangea is dispersed, resulting in the formation of new oceans such as the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. About 80 million years ago, the rift between North America and Europe and the rupture of India from Madagascar marked a significant stage in the breakup. The last major event was the collision between India and Eurasia, leading to the creation of the Himalayas approximately 50 million years ago.

The main role of plate tectonics in breaking pangea:

Wegener’s early assumptions about Pangea laid the foundation for the development of plate tectonic theory in the 1960s. Wegener notes the similarities between South America and Africa’s coastlines, which suggests that these continents were once part of a single slowly drifting continent. When the scientist determined the mechanism behind plate movement, his idea of ​​continental drift became a more comprehensive theory. In the 1930s, geologist Alexander L. du Toit proposed the existence of two super-large figures: Laurasia in the north and Gondwana in the south , expanding Wegener’s works.

The role of tectonics in the African Rift Valley System

The African Rift System, mainly the East African Rift System (EARS), is formed due to the tectonic process associated with the boundaries of divergent plates. The movement of the earth’s lithosphere in the region plays a crucial role in shaping the continent’s topographic and geological characteristics.

What is a tectonic board?

Tectonic plates, also known as lithosphere plates, are huge, irregularly shaped plates of solid rocks that are usually composed of continental and marine lithospheres. These plates can vary in size, ranging from hundreds to thousands of kilometers. Examples of the largest plates include the Pacific and Antarctic plates. The thickness of the plate also varies greatly, from less than 15 kilometers of the young marine lithosphere to 200 kilometers or more of the ancient continental lithosphere (such as the inner regions of North and South America).

Source: Worldatlas

Understand the Rifting Process

The East African Rift Valley is a major geological feature, and the lithosphere of the Earth (including the crust and the upper mantle) is splitting due to tectonic forces. This process is called a rift when the structural plate is divided into two or more smaller plates along the divergence boundary.

What is Rift Valley?

Rift Valley is the formation of a lowland area called Rift Valley. It is caused by movement in the earth’s crust, leading to the gradual separation of land. In the past, similar tectonic activities led to the formation of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The current East African Rift is an extension of these processes, ultimately leading to new marine basins.

Key tectonic process of the formation of African rift valleys

• Divergent plate movement: African plates split into Nubian plates (western) and Somali plates (east) due to mantle convection. This separation leads to the extension force to create a rift valley.

• The formation of normal faults and rifts: As the shell extends, normal faults occur, causing large plots of land to gradually fade. This creates a deep rift, such as the Great Rift.

• Volcanic and magma activity: Rift valley areas are associated with strong volcanic activity caused by rising mantle magma. Famous volcanoes: Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya and Nyiragono. As the magma rises, active volcanoes such as Erta Ale (Ethiopia) and Nyiragono Mountain (Dr. Congo) will continue to erupt.

• Seismic activity: As faults change to adapt to stretching the crust, the rifting process can lead to frequent earthquakes.

• Rift Valley Lake Formation: Settlement due to rift Valley leads to lake formation such as Lake Victoria, Lake Tanyanyika and Lake Malawi.

• Future continental breakup: If the rift continues, the horn of Africa may eventually separate from the major African continents, forming a new marine basin.

• Formation of a new ocean basin: If the rift continues to expand for millions of years, seawater will eventually flood and form a new ocean. When Africa and South America separate, similar processes create the Red Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

in conclusion

The division of the African continent and the formation of new oceans is a fascinating geological process with profound implications. While it may take millions of years to achieve, transformation will reshape the economy, ecosystems, and settlements. As researchers continue to study these changes, it is crucial to prepare for the opportunities and challenges brought by natural dynamic forces.

Source: https://dinhtienhoang.edu.vn
Category: Optical Illusion